Focus group research to measure satisfaction with antenatal, birthing and maternity care of women with a low-educated native Dutch and non-western ethnic background.

This research focuses on the experiences of women with antenatal, birthing and maternity care living in deprived areas in the city of Rotterdam, the Netherlands. We used purposive sampling to assure that participants in the focus group interviews represented the important target groups of these deprived neighbourhoods. We employed active recruitment methods, including by ‘verbal advertising’ and through social networks. Firstly, the primary researcher visited: (a) peer education meetings organised by the community health workers, (b) primary schools during coffee breaks, (c) secondary schools and a community college during health(care) educational lessons and (d) neighbourhood community centres. Participants recruited through these methods were asked to connect us with other interested women (‘snow ball sampling’ strategy).

We conducted 19 semi-structured focus-group interviews with 18 women with a Turkish background, 19 women with a Moroccan background, 10 women with a Surinamese background, 12 women with an Antillean background, 20 women with a Cape Verdean background, 12 women with a native Dutch background, and 9 adolescent and 6 pregnant women with various ethnic backgrounds. Each focus group consisted of participants with the same ethnic background, including adolescents and pregnant women.